Credit card issuers established an Oct.1, 2015, deadline for stores to begin accepting EMV cards (which stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa — the three credit companies that established U.S. smart card technical standards) or risk-bearing full-financial liability for any fraud losses. Previously, card issuers were responsible.

EMV smart cards are more secure than the expiring generation of magnetic stripe credit cards because of the computer chip embedded into each smart card’s upper lefthand corner. This microprocessor enables EMV credit and debit cards to generate a unique transaction code every time the card is used. The code is then deleted and never used again, unlike magnetic stripe cards which reuse the customer’s same account data for each transaction.

Of the 48 retail chains surveyed by ConsumerWorld between Dec. 1 and Dec. 5 all, except Radio Shack, had smart card payment terminals already in place at their retail outlets. However, three-quarters of the stores questioned or observed via in-store spot-checks didn’t have their terminals working yet.

Only 11 retail chains in the survey had enabled their EMV smart card systems chainwide. Those retailers included Target, Walgreens, Home Depot, Rite Aid, Macy’s, Best Buy, WalMart and Sam’s Club. Lowe’s, Old Navy and Office Depot/Max had enabled their EMV smart card systems at all the test stores visited, but did not respond to the ConsumerWorld survey.

According to the ConsumerWorld news release, stores that had not fully implemented EMV smart card technology offered various reasons for the delay. Some said they were still testing the software, others said some of the card processing networks were late delivering technical specifications or were slow to certify retailers’ systems. Other stores said they didn’t want to make system changes during the busy holiday shopping season, or were working to resolve technical problems with the smart card readers themselves.

The introduction of chipped-cards has prompted some complaints from both retailers and customers. Transactions often take longer to process, and some retailers question the security provided by the new system with respect to protecting card data from hackers.

Some large retailers like Target, as well as a group of state attorneys general, are urging the adoption of both “chip and PIN” when making a purchase. On the other side, some have argued that it is too difficult for shoppers using the new cards to remember to both dip them and to also enter a PIN number.

Bank industry analysts estimate that 70 percent of credit cards will be chip-enabled by the end of the year. Stores which have not yet updated or turned on their systems can still accept chipped credit cards the old-fashioned way — by swiping.